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| Police Chief Billy Lee |
The Treyvon Martin murder is now widely talked about here in the U.S. The tragic occurrence on February 26, where Martin, was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, who was able to get away with it on the belief that he felt threatened, is now dealing with outrage from the country. New developments have arisen out of the case, with questionable police conduct being discovered by news sources, including,” the “correction” of an eyewitness account”. Other discoveries of the case include the fact no drug test, nor background check were conducted as part of the investigation by local authorities, which is standard policy for investigations. As a response to this conduct, local City Commissioners conducted a vote of “no confidence” with how Police Chief Billy Lee handled the investigation, with a vote of 3 out of 5 against Chief Lee.
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| Martin in his hoodie |
Since the fatal shooting, and the recent investigation of the local police department, support has been pouring out for the Martin family, with over 2 million signatures, as of March 26th, on an online petition asking the Florida Attorney General to arrest Zimmerman. There has also been the spread of demonstrations all over the country, with “Million Hoodie Marches” taking place with people with hoods on their heads to represent how Trayvon was dressed on the night of the murder. Support has even come from the sports world, with the Miami Heat showing their support for Martin by wearing their sport hoodies with their hoods down. These demonstrations have also spurred demonstrations about other complaints, such as dissatisfaction with the brutality of the Denver Police Department, who have paid over $1.34 million dollars to settle brutality cases.
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| Geraldo Rivera |
One incredibly surprising response from the murder has received widespread criticism: Geraldo Rivera’s remarks on the shooting on, not surprisingly, Fox News. His remarks centered around Martin’s hoodie, and that if he had not been wearing it, he would still be alive. This statement is absolutely ridiculous, and is based on false stereotypes about the connection between hoodies and crime. A statement I saw pretty much makes it clear that Rivera’s reasoning is flawed: “If I were to be a clown, does that give me the right to throw a pie in your face?”
It seems that Zimmerman isn’t going to get off too easily from prosecution, whether from the federal authorities, or the public at large. But it is important that we don’t stop, and continue to put pressure on authorities for the arrest of Zimmerman, and one small way to help is to sign the petition for Zimmerman’s arrest. It will take less than a minute and, I believe, will make a difference: http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin .
